Tag Archives: Garlic

This week in my food co-op I got some green cauliflower. I don’t know why it’s green. It tastes the same as regular cauliflower and cooks the same; it just looks different. Well, I needed a good recipe for this green cauliflower because I knew that a certain kiddo of mine wouldn’t eat it just the way it was. Enter Beefy Cauliflower Pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, chop your cauliflower (mine is green cauliflower, remember: 🙂 ). Add the cauliflower to the pasta water for the last 5-10 minutes until both it and the pasta are cooked through.

Next, add some cream cheese and shredded cheese to your deliciously seasoned beef. I only added about 1/4 of the cream cheese block, but I wish I had added a lot more. The cream cheese acts as a binder so everything will stick together. The meal tasted good, but it didn’t really stick together at all. It felt like it needed more sauce or something. I think more cream cheese would have helped considerably.

Now, mix everything together and serve it to your very impressed family.

By the way, yes I am aware that this meal is a little more than five bucks. I don’t expect every single meal on here to be five bucks or less. I do try my best to get them as close to five bucks as possible. This one counts as close. 🙂

Directions: Brown ground beef in a skillet and drain excess fat. Season beef with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook 1/2 lb. of pasta according to package direction. Add the cauliflower to the pasta water for the last 5-10 minutes. Drain pasta and cauliflower. Mix cream cheese and shredded cheese into the beef until it melts. Add the pasta and cauliflower.

Tips to Make this Healthier: Use whole wheat pasta or half whole wheat, half white pasta. You could make a homemade white sauce in place of the cream cheese. As always, serve with an extra vegetable and fruit. Use less shredded cheese.

Like this:

Let me start by saying that I have never liked black beans and rice. I had it a lot growing up. I always ate it dutifully without any complaining since my mom had taken the time and effort to make it. I tried to like it. Everyone else in my family LOVED it. I pretended that I liked it. I tried to convince myself that I liked it. None of it worked. I just don’t like black beans and rice. That was true until last night!!! I’ve been making dinners for 6 years now and this is the first black beans and rice recipe that I have ever liked. What makes it so different, you ask? The addition of canned tomatoes. Delish.

First cook some rice. Hopefully you have a rice cooker which makes it sooooo easy.

Next, you get out a frying pan and saute your chopped onions in some olive oil. I, as usual, used onion powder instead. Next, add your garlic powder and Italian seasoning. I added some salt, too and apparently forgot to put the onion powder in the picture. Next, add the canned tomatoes (undrained) and 2 cans of black beans (rinsed and drained). I didn’t have 2 cans of black beans so I just used 1 can of kidney beans and 1 can of black beans. It was still really yummy that way.

Saute this mixture for about 20 minutes on medium low heat.

When it is all cooked through, your rice should be done. You can serve this on top of cooked rice, or you can mix it all together before you serve it. I served it on top for everybody in our family, but we all just mixed it together before we ate it. Next time I’ll just mix it all together before I serve it.

There may or may not have been a few bites taken out of this before the picture was taken. 🙂 It was so good I couldn’t resist.

Directions: Saute the onion in some olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Add the canned tomatoes and stir. Pour in the black beans. Saute about 20 minutes on medium low heat. Use a potato masher to mash a bit of the mix (2/3 whole, 1/3 mashed). Serve over cooked rice.

Tips to make this healthier: Serve with a vegetable side. Use brown rice instead of white rice.